TOMS RIVER – A Manchester man was convicted of vehicular homicide on Thursday in the 2010 death of an off-duty Ocean Gate police officer, authorities said.

The jury took approximately 45 minutes to return the guilty verdict, Senior Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Patrick Sheehan said.

“I’m delighted that the case is over with,” Sheehan said. “I’m saddened that the family of the victim has lived with this for that long. I think that this is the correct verdict.”

The trial for Erick Uzcategui, 34, started on July 1, with the state accusing him of recklessly driving a vehicle after a night out with friends. Prosecutors said Uzcategui got behind the wheel on Nov. 25, 2010, with a blood-alcohol level of 0.155 and caused a crash on the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway in Toms River. A blood alcohol level of 0.08 is considered legal intoxication in New Jersey.

Off-duty Ocean Gate Police Officer Jason Marles was killed in the crash after the Jeep he was driving struck a guardrail, overturned and caught on fire, prosecutors said.

During opening statements, defense attorney Brian Neary told jurors that he intended to prove that Uzcategui did not have a reckless state of mind and that there are two sides to every story.

Sheehan said he intends to seek the maximum sentence for Uzcategui, which is 10 years in prison. The vehicular homicide charge carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison.